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NewEpoch Media

ZIMBABWE – New law to undermine the right to strike

June 5, 2019

Since the last election in 2018 various strikes arose in Zimbabwe. Several strikes by doctors and teachers took place in 2018. In January 2019, a general strike arose forcefully after the doubling of fuel price, which rose up to more than 3,3 Dollars/liter, which is the highest fuel price in the world! Within this general strike 8 people were killed, 25 injured and 200 got arrested in clashes with security forces. Among the killed people, is also one police-officer, which was stoned to death by demonstrators. Protesters also burned a police station, closed roads and looted shops in Harare, Bulawayo and Kadoma.

Now a big strike by the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) was declared. The nurses in Zimbabwe showed in various previous strikes, like in 2018, that they are a strong force in the struggle for workers rights. This week, the Labour minister Sekai Nzenza said that „Workers can no longer engage in stayaways before engaging the TNF stakeholders“. The TNF, the Tripartite Negotiating Forum, which is government, industry captains and Apex Council, should be included in the discussion if to strike or not. This law undermines clearly the important workers right of strike, which is also part of the constitution and should prevent the struggle of the workers going on. It is an attack against the working class and their struggle for unionist, but also social rights. It is expected that President Emmerson Mnangagwa will sign the bill into law this week.

The democratic rights to organize and strike are important instrument of the workers. If the government, backed by the foreign powers, mostly Russian imperialism, wants to undermine and smash this right, they even more openly show their anti-democratic face towards the workers and the masses and they show their big fear of the strength of the working class and the masses if they unite and struggle against them.